Trending Philly.com

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev—the alleged Boston Marathon bomber who surrendered after a standoff with police on and has since pleaded not guilty to using a weapon of mass destruction and 29 other such charges—is on the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone.

The accompanying cover story, written by contributing editor Janet Reitman, focuses on Tsarnaev's descent into radical Islam and how a "charming kid" could possibly evolve into an alleged terrorist.

In the new issue of Rolling Stone, contributing editor Janet Reitman delivers a deeply reported account of the life and times of Boston bomber Jahar Tsarnaev. Reitman spent the last two months interviewing dozens of sources – childhood and high school friends, teachers, neighbors and law enforcement agents, many of whom spoke for the first time about the case – to deliver a riveting and heartbreaking account of how a charming kid with a bright future became a monster.

Rolling Stone's teaser for the cover story includes five "revelations" about Tsarnaev's transformation into a radical terrorist, including that he didn't like to talk about 9/11 and that he didn't want his friends to meet his brother. [Rolling Stone]